Event Overview

253 of the world’s best tournament poker players are eligible for Season One of the Epic Poker League. To earn 2-, 3-, or 5-year cards, players must have career tournament earnings of at least $1.25 million along with a number of additional criteria. Discovery HD Theater aired a sneak preview of the first Main Event on Friday, September 30, at 10 PM ET. New cable network Velocity premiered its first Epic episode on Friday, October 7, at 10 PM ET. Epic Poker premiered on CBS network television Saturday, October 8, at 1 PM ET. Check local listings for Season One broadcast times.

The 18 money finishers in the 6-Max Main Event are an outstanding cross-section from the world of elite professional poker players. Their combined $80 million in career tournament poker earnings (which does not include the fortunes many have made in online poker or in high-stakes cash games) are just a small part of their remarkable stories. True, these players have no bosses, work whenever they want, and consider the world’s most beautiful resorts as their offices. For the select few who qualify for Epic Poker, they receive free rooms at the Palms Casino Resort, transportation to and from the airport, and lavish daily credits at the world-famous gourmet restaurants of the Palms.

It sounds like a wonderful way to live, playing games for work, going to work in a place everyone else goes on vacation. Professional poker players, however, regularly face the risk of ruin and they work without a safety net. They have no contracts, no teammates, no coaches, each can earn a living only to the degree a competitor loses money, and every friend they make – every person with whom they can form a bond – is a competitor.

Tournament poker is especially Darwinian. Only the top 10-15% of the field shares in the prize money, which the players traditionally put up themselves. That’s $20,000 for the Epic Main Event, and 85% of the field will lose every dime of it. Even the very best players – these players – finish in the money just 15-20% of the time. Mostly, their earnings from those relatively rare successes are insufficient to pay the cost of frequent and inevitable failure. Places 13-18 in this event receive $43,190, which is substantial money, but they put up $20,000 and expect to fail 80-85% of the time. Therefore, finishing in the top 10%, even though you get paid, is not good enough. Finishing in the top 5% is not good enough. To survive even temporarily, players have to finish periodically in the top 10%. To make a career of it, players have to turn those top 10% finishes into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place money. Even for players who have investors share their risk (and reward), only a few of the players who grab poker’s spotlight – appearing on television in international competition of skill and nerve, playing at the highest level at something at least 100 million people play for money – can earn enough money to continue doing it.

What kind of exceptional person chooses that life – and succeeds?

David “Chino” Rheem won Epic Poker’s first Main Event, the 6-Max Championship, early Saturday morning at Palms Casino Resort. For his efforts, he earned $1 million, a Champion’s Ring, and multiple satisfactions: he prevailed over a final table that had won over $45 million in tournament poker; he won three-handed against Jason Mercier and Erik Seidel, who will likely be the GPI#1 and GPI#2 players in next week’s rankings; and he has taken a giant step toward making good on the promise he showed in 2008, when he played the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event and won a World Poker Tour event within less than six weeks.

Erik Seidel, who Rheem defeated heads-up, earned $604,330 and nonetheless solidified his position as the best big money tournament poker player ever. Jason Mercier, who finished third, earned $360,970 and likewise confirmed his spot as the preeminent poker player of his generation. All six players at the final table distinguished themselves with excellent play, as will be evident when CBS and Velocity broadcast the event this fall.

Huckleberry Seed, playing on a short stack for most of Thursday and Friday, displayed tremendous patience but finished sixth ($107,980) when, on Hand #80 of the final table, his pocket jacks could not hold up against Jason Mercier’s ace-king. Gavin Smith, likewise fighting an uphill battle all day against bigger stacks, rebounded tenaciously from reverses, but finished fifth ($154,260) when his pocket nines, on Hand #127, ran into Mercier’s queens.

Hasan Habib, the chip leader at the start of the final table (though Mercier, Rheem, and Seidel were close behind), finished fourth ($237,560), the result of successive hands in which Rheem held slightly better cards. On Hand #134, Hasan matched his pocket sixes against Rheem’s pocket sevens, and would have been eliminated, except that the board came J-3-3-J-3 and they split the pot. Three hands later, Habib got his chips in with pocket jacks – but this time Chino had pocket aces, and they held up.

This set up the battle between Chino Rheem, a player struggling to deliver on the remarkable potential he displayed in 2008, and Erik Seidel and Jason Mercier, two of the top-ranked players in the world. Mercier lost most of his chips with pocket fives against Seidel’s Ace-King, and the remainder when he moved all-in from the small blind and Erik called with K-J. Jason’s 9-8 did not improve and he was out, setting up the 47-hand confrontation between Rheem and Seidel.

An event with 137 world-class players in a setting of comfort, luxury, and professionalism deserved a televised final table that communicates skill and drama to the mass audience. Fifteen of the world’s 20 highest ranked players according to the GPI played, and 7 of the top 9. The players ranked GPI#2 (Seidel), GPI#3 (Mercier), and GPI#4 (Eugene Katchalov) were among the 18 money finishers. Five of the top 10 all-time tournament poker money winners played. (Jamie Gold, 2006 WSOP Main Event winner, did not qualify.)

The atmosphere inside Epic before the tournament was a combination of excitement, confidence, and worry. What if fewer than 100 players showed up for the Pro-Am? What if the Charity Event didn’t raise very much money for Joplin? What if fewer than 100 players entered the Main Event? What if the structure did not encourage skillful play in the later levels? What if Matt Savage couldn’t lure the best dealers? What if the Palms – also in its maiden effort at big-time tournament poker – stumbled? What if the conditions weren’t player-friendly, or the final table set not exciting, revolutionary, and dazzling?

Even though there are plenty of areas in which Commissioner Annie Duke is receiving suggestions and considering improvements, it was remarkable how much went right. The players overwhelmingly appreciated the treatment. The Palms kept up its end. Matt Savage ran the tournament the way you would expect from a Matt Savage tournament, and he got the best dealers in the business. The final table set will help launch poker into the sporting mainstream.

No one at Epic, even at their most optimistic, thought this first event would be this good. The turnout for the Pro-Am was far above expectations and, despite 68 League members entering and the remarkably high level of play, just one League member (Andy Bloch) won a Main Event entry, and two players who won their way into the Pro-Am also won seats into the Main Event. Two of the Pro-Am winners cashed. Dan Fleyshman (15th) and Brandon Meyers (9th), were well-known professionals to League members and will likely someday qualify for cards.

In the charity event, Brad Garrett worked the crowd into a hilarious uproar and hectored the players to keep rebuying, which led to Epic raising $53,000 for Operation USA, which will send the money to Joplin, Missouri’s tornado victims. League Members turned out in force, the quality of the final table exceeded most big-money events, and winner Andy Frankenberger graciously donated his winner’s share.

The second Epic Poker Tournament Series starts with a Pro-Am September 2-5, a Charity Event for FallenHeroes.org on September 4, and an 8-handed table Main Event beginning September 6. Appearing in the schedule during what has shaped up as the fall European swing, it will possibly be light on European players or those whose sponsors count on them playing in Europe. Except for those players, however, it is unlikely any (or just an idiosyncratic few) will skip the event because they didn’t like their experience this past week. Even then, Epic is already working on ways to address suggestions posed by players and make the September event even better than the 6-Max.

It will be a difficult job, but no one doubts that Epic will set the bar high, and continue trying to sail over.

No matter the outcome today, history would be made. We would know the identity of the first Epic Poker League Main Event champion who would have to defeat some of the top players in the world to earn the title. Six players began the day but only one walked away with the Champion's Ring and $1,000,000.

The Matt Savage designed structure left plenty of room for the players to make moves and play their games, this was not an all-in or fold final table. Despite the action-inducing 6-Max format, only one player was eliminated prior to the dinner break.

Huck Seed began the day with the smallest chip stack by a significant margin. He worked his way back into the game and was a realistic threat until he ran into Jason Mercier. Nearly 80 hands were dealt at the final table before Seed was the first eliminated, losing a race to Mercier. Pocket jacks were outflopped by ace king and Seed was out in 6th place for $107,980.

Seed's knockout began a long series of hands which stretched past the dinner break before the table was narrowed to four players. The lead changed several times, the momentum shifting from one player to another, before Gavin Smith was eliminated in 5th place. Smith made several big comebacks but was unable to find a miracle when he pushed his chips in the middle with pockets nines before Jason Mercier called with queens. Smith is always a crowd favorite and was entertaining until his knockout. He collected $154,260 for his finish.

We were down to 3 players just 10 hands later when Hasan Habib was eliminated. Habib began final table with the chip lead but lost it early in the day to David "Chino" Rheem and it was Rheem who provided his knockout. Pocket jacks were no good versus the pocket aces of Rheem. Habib came into the day with a great chance at the big prize but will take home $237,560.

That left the table with two of the hottest players in the game in Jason Mercier and Erik Seidel along with 2008 November Nine member Chino Rheem. The three took shots at each other until Mercier was the first to succumb.

Erik Seidel began the process by taking nearly all of Mercier's chip stack with a pre-flop race and ace king was good versus Mercier's pocket fives. Just a few hands later and Seidel finished Mercier's tournament with a 3rd place result and $360,970.

Erik Seidel is having one of the best years of his poker career and no one was counting him out even with the chip lead belonging to Rheem. The two went at each other for nearly 50 hands, trading the chip lead several times along the way, until eventually Seidel was all-in ace king. A rock solid hand in a heads up match but he was behind the ace king of Rheem and did not get any help from the board.

After 4 tournament days, 35 hours of playing, and 212 hands at the final table, David "Chino" Rheem has won the inaugural Epic Poker League Main Event. He was awarded the first Champion's Ring along with $1,000,000.

1st - David "Chino" Rheem - $1,000,000
2nd - Erik Seidel - $604,330
3rd - Jason Mercier - $360,970
4th - Hasan Habib - $237,560
5th - Gavin Smith - $154,260
6th - Huck Seed - $107,980

Player	VHP	AI	PRFA	POFA	SDWN	Hands
Chino Rheem	42.70%	1.6	1	2.2	60.30%	417
Erik Seidel	38.20%	1.4	0.7	2.1	47.20%	398
Jason Mercier	31.70%	2.7	2	3.3	43.60%	350
Hasan Habib	39.60%	1	1.4	2.7	50.00%	331
Gavin Smith	30.40%	1.2	0.7	1.6	55.20%	326
Huck Seed	22.20%	1.7	1.3	2.1	68.80%	284
Adam Levy	21.40%	3.3	2.8	3.7	50.00%	196
Eugene Katchalov	35.20%	1.1	0.7	1.5	30.00%	128
Brandon Meyers	23.40%	1.6	1.7	1.4	25.00%	128
Isaac Baron	36.80%	1.9	1	2.7	60.00%	106
Sam Trickett	34.70%	1.6	1.4	1.7	25.00%	95
Ted Lawson	15.10%		0.8	-	0.00%	73
Noah Schwartz	33.30%	1.9	1.3	2.5	50.00%	63
Matt Glantz	15.30%	1.3	1.3	1.3	0.00%	59
Dan Fleyshman	18.00%		8	-	0.00%	50
Hafiz Khan	32.50%		2.3	-	0.00%	40
Hoyt Corkins	27.60%		7	-	0.00%	29
Justin Bonomo	41.70%		1.5	-	66.70%	12

VHP: Voluntarily Hands Played (Also known as VPIP)

Simply: how often does a player voluntarily enter a pot? VHP records the percentage of hands where a player chooses to voluntarily put money into the pot before the flop. Put another way, VHP is the percentage of hands a player chooses to play rather than fold pre-flop.

VHP answers the question about whether a player is loose or tight. The higher the VHP, the looser the player. The lower the VHP, the tighter the player. 

In general, in a 9-handed game of poker, you will see a VHP range of about 15% to 25% among the top poker players in the world. As the number of players at the table goes down, a player’s VHP will generally go up. In a 6-Max game, for example, you will usually see a VHP range between 20% and 30% among the game’s top players. When play gets very short-handed, with 4 players or fewer, VHP can reach well above 40%. In heads-up play you will often see VHP’s over 90%. 


AI: Aggression Index

Simply: How aggressive is a player across both preflop and postflop action? The higher the index, the more aggressive the player is. Any player with an index above 1.5 is considered aggressive since they are choosing an aggressive action one and a half times as often as they are choosing a passive action.

The Aggression Index is derived by taking a ratio of the number of overall aggressive actions to the number of overall passive actions. 

Specifically:

Numerator: (Number of times the player enters the pot raising) + (The number of times the player bets or raises postflop)

Denominator: (The number of times the player enters a pot limping or calling preflop) + (The number of times a player folds or calls postflop)

An Aggression Index above 1 means the player chooses aggressive actions more often than more passive choices, that the player chooses raising more than calling. Below 1 means the player chooses to call more than raise. Professional players almost always have Aggression Indices above 1.


PRFA INDEX: PReFlop Aggression Index

Simply: How aggressively does a player choose to enter a pot? When a player is first into a pot before the flop, they can enter by just calling the big blind amount or by raising. The PRFA Index measures a player’s pre-flop aggressiveness by looking at the balance between entering the pot raising and entering the pot calling. 

The PRFA Index is calculated by taking the number of times a player chooses to enter a pot with a raising action pre-flop divided by the number of times the player enters a pot with a calling action pre-flop, creating a ratio of pre-flop raises to pre-flop calls. 

Because pre-flop raises are in the numerator and pre-flop calls are in the denominator, a PRFA of over 1 will indicate a player who raises more often than they call when they enter the pot. A PRFA index of 2 indicates a player who enters the pot with a raise twice as often as they enter the pot with a call, obviously, a highly aggressive player. A PRFA of less than 1 indicates a player who tends to call or limp into pots more often than they raise to enter. 

Among top players, the PRFA Index will generally range between 1 and 2 but you will occasionally see a PRFA of above 3, especially in shorter handed situations. 


POFA INDEX: POst Flop Aggression Index

Simply, how aggressive is the player after the flop? How often does the play attempt to win the pot post-flop with either a bet or a raise? Aggressive post-flop actions are actions where a player gives their opponent the opportunity to fold, thereby giving themselves the opportunity to win the pot right then without a showdown. For the purposed of the POFA Index, bets and raises post-flop are considered aggressive actions as those actions can win the pot right there, giving their opponent(s) the opportunity to fold. Calls and folds are considered passive actions. If a player folds post-flop they obviously cannot win the pot. If a player just calls a bet they are not giving their opponent an opportunity to fold. Checks are considered neutral and are not counted in the index.

The POFA Index is calculated by taking the number of actions post-flop that are bets and raises divided by the number of post-flop actions that are calls and folds, creating a ratio of post-flop bets and raises to post-flop calls and folds. 

Because the aggressive actions are in the numerator and the passive actions are in the denominator, the higher the POFA, the more aggressive the player is post-flop, the more a player attempts to win hands without a showdown. A POFA Index of over 1 indicates a player who bets and raises more often than they call or fold post-flop. A POFA index of 2 indicates a player who bets or raises twice as often as they call or fold, obviously, a highly aggressive post-flop player whose hands do not go to showdown that often. A POFA of less than 1 indicates a player who tends to call or fold post-flop often than they bet or raise which you will rarely see among professional players. 

Among top players, the POFA Index will generally range between 1.5 and 2.5 but you will occasionally see a P0FA well above 3, especially in shorter handed or bubble situations. 


SDWN: ShowDown WiN percentage

Simply: SDWN tells you how adept a player is at getting their money in the pot with the best hand. The higher the percentage of time that a player wins the pot when the hand goes to showdown, when the pot is won because the cards have gone face-up, the better the player is at getting their money in the pot with the best hand. 

SDWN is calculated by taking the percentage of pots a player wins. 

Among the best players in the world, SDWN should range around 50%. At 50% that means the player is winning the hand 50% of the time a pot goes to showdown, meaning they are unlikely to get their money in worse than a race situation.